Organisation: Foundation for the Prevention of Occupational Risks, UGT Aim
To produce an accessible, non-technical guide that drivers can easily consult about the risks of their profession.
Key elements
The guide, produced by one of the major Spanish trade union confederations, analyses risks in the goods transport sector, showcases good practice and promotes prevention and protection measures.
Each risk in the guide is presented as follows:
A brief description of risk parameters and of situations that could cause accidents.
Important points to be remembered while facing the relevant risk or situation.
Analysis of the causes behind these situations.
Preventive and protective measures for eliminating or minimising the risks. The risk parameters and the situations covered by the guide are:
Too high or too low speed
The road
Traffic
The environment
The risk perception of the driver
Overtaking
Intersections
Signalling
The vehicle’s condition
The type of driving (e.g. offensive or defensive driving)
Safe distances between vehicles
Drugs and alcohol abuse
Distractions while driving
Driving under adverse conditions (e.g. at night or in snow, ice, rain, sun, mist etc.)
Fatigue and sleepiness
Risky or inadequate stops
Driving in reverse
Road curves
Changing lanes
Entering or leaving a parking place
Roundabouts
Entering a motorway
Driving and inertia
Passengers, pedestrians, children and elderly people.
Further information
Foundation for the Prevention of Occupational Risks, UGT
(Fundación para la Prevención de Riesgos Laborales, Fundación Universal, UGT) Web: http://fetcm.ugt.org
2.4.10.
Hoyer Safe Driver Policy, UK
Organisation: Hoyer Haulage UK Ltd.
Hoyer is an international transport company, transporting chemicals, food and mineral oils. There are 900 drivers and 200 office-based staff located at the head office and at clients’ sites. Hoyer is a rapidly growing business and consequently the number of drivers it employs has increased fourfold in recent years.
Aim
Road safety is seen as the greatest risk to employees, and the company felt there was a need for a comprehensive road safety policy.
Due to the nature of the company’s operations, Hoyer employees are often based at client sites and are requested to adopt the client’s own health and safety procedures. Hoyer therefore had to work to a number of differing health and safety procedures. The aim was to develop the Hoyer company policy and specific safety procedures.
Key elements
The policy for goods delivery covers:
Site defect reporting
Incident reporting and investigation
Emergency response
Equipment and delivery procedures*
Training
*Specific road safety procedures are included in the policy, as listed below:
Driver assessments/permit to drive (there is a very robust driver selection programme)
Driver training (defensive driving training is provided for all drivers with a refresher course every two years)
Risk assessment (all collection and delivery activities are covered by risk assessments and associated safe operating procedures)
Journey scheduling (one of the company’s clients requires drivers to conduct a route risk assessment, and this may be adopted across the business)
Vehicle maintenance procedures (There is a routine maintenance procedure. Drivers are also required to conduct pre-start checks at the beginning of their shifts to check the condition of their trucks)
Incentive schemes (every year Hoyer runs a Driver of the Year Competition)
Incident reporting and investigation (all incidents are analysed monthly and are the first item on the agenda of the monthly board meeting),
The policy is communicated to all employees (every member of staff has a copy of the health and safety policy and there is ongoing communication of amendments and updates).
Hoyer Ltd. measures its performance against five strategic key performance indicators:
road vehicle accidents
lost time injuries
personal injuries
spills
crossovers/contamination.
There has been a significant improvement in these indicators over recent years and this is due to the continuous pressure from management to strive for improvements.
Further information
Safety Environment and Quality Management Mrs Sabrina Toniutti
Email: sabrina.toniutti@hoyer-group.com
Web:http://www.hoyer.co.uk
2.4.11.
The management of occupational road risk, UK
Organisation(s): Powergen UK plc
Aim
UK energy provider Powergen has a fleet of approximately 1,000 vehicles and so needed to develop guidance on managing the health and safety of its employees who drive on company business.
Key elements
Powergen formed a group of individuals from different sections of the company to develop such guidance. The group brainstormed the issue and collated basic information and statistics, both inside and outside the company, using this information to produce a health and safety guidance document.
This document was distributed to the company and also to some external organisations for comment before it was put into practice.
Health and safety guidance was put into practice by distributing the document electronically to all employees, by developing and distributing awareness posters and by incorporating them into drivers’ training courses.
The health and safety guidance document provides advice and stresses the importance of:
o Individual drivers’ responsibility and fitness (concerning alcohol
consumption, use of safety belts, use of mobile phones, sleepiness and fatigue, and avoiding driving if alternative transport is available).
o Vehicle ergonomics (e.g. vehicle design and driver positioning). o Vehicle loading ergonomics and safety.
o Vehicle maintenance (regular maintenance checks added to manufacturers’
servicing requirements, 30-second visual check of the vehicle before driving and periodical checks of e.g. light bulbs and the level of essential fluids).
o Best practice for the use of the vehicle and on the road.
o Journey planning (e.g. route planning and frequency of rest breaks, adverse
weather).
o Accident reporting (also ‘near-misses’).
o Line managers’ responsibilities (driver assessments, guidance and reports). o Risk assessment (occupational road risk and general principles of risk
assessment).
The company considered the health and safety guidance document to be a very effective way of communicating the concept of risk assessment to its staff.
Although it took around 18 months to develop the guidance document, the overall cost of implementing it is not considered to be significant.
2.4.12.
Safety in and around loading bays, UK
Aims
Distribution companies regularly deliver and receive goods at loading bays. If badly designed or managed these loading bays may become obstructed, forcing large trucks to park on the busy roadside, or requiring trucks to manoeuvre dangerously close to each other at the same dock station. Serious accidents can happen as trucks pass each other at such places. In addition truck drivers may not see pedestrians crossing these areas, which can result in fatal injuries.
By redesigning the layout of the loading site it is possible to reduce the risks by controlling the movements of vehicles and pedestrians.
Key elements
The overall improvements include better access and lighting to loading bays, dedicated parking areas and segregation of pedestrians from the loading areas.
With regard to loading bays:
The main adjustment is the installation of a one-way system, which means that trucks no longer have to reverse where pedestrians are crossing.
Other improvements include barriers that force workers to cross the loading bay on the crossing provided and making sure the crossing area is well lit so truck drivers leaving the site can clearly see pedestrians.
With regard to busy roadsides:
The main adjustment to such loading areas is the creation of a dedicated parking bay for delivery vehicles, with an area for unloading. This ensures driver safety during loading and unloading.
Other improvements include road markings that instruct staff to keep the area clear, and the installation of flood lighting above the loading area. This makes delivery drivers more visible while working at the bay.
Further information
Ms Carol Grainger HSE
8NW Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge SE1 9HS
London, UK
Web: http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/sitesafe/index.htm http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/sitesafe/cs2safe.htm http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/sitesafe/cs